We have to be flexible

AT a time when foreign and Indian investors are complaining about the speed and extent of liberalisation in India and the problems of working within a system which varies in application from state to state, Anthony Greener, chairman of the 4.7 billion (Rs 23,500 crore) Guinness PLC, offers a contrary view. Greener, whose company has entered the Indian liquor segment through a joint venture with United Breweries, feels that haste gets a global corporation nowhere, whether inlndiaor elsewhere. Ina conversation with Senior Associate Editor sudeep chakravarti during a visit to India recently. Greener advocated patience for long-term gain inan emerging market. Excerpts WE have not come to India with any preconceived ideas. One of the important things for a global company like Guinness is not to assume that they have a standard formula which automatically works everywhere. You can make grave mistakes if you try and impose your ideas on different countries. I hope we didn't splash ourselves across the newspapers; we certainly didn't set out to do that. My point is that we have come into India, are coming into India, with due sensitivity. Our attitude is to try and come in quietly and slowly, steadily observe, understand the various points of view, accommodate those and work with them.

India is not one homogenous market-the laws, customs, taxation and distribution systems are very different on a state-by-state basis. But I have to say that this is not a unique situation. Take the United States, where you have different laws and distribution systems from state to state and we and others have lived with them.

I think it would be simplistic and naive to assume that everything in India, or indeed any other country that is just liberalising, will be open and straightforward. For instance, China is a market that is starting to open up to our products. The process of doing business there is anything but straightforward. We take the view that if you're going to be successful in China or India or Latin America and many other parts of the world, you have to play by the rules of that country. Itisnotforus to impose those rules, it'sforus to work within them, even if they are different, difficult or time consuming. For instance, we have come here as a joint venture because we don't presume we know all the answers.

In that sense, it's not a matter of competition between India and China-they are both enormous markets. A global company wishes to do business in every country in the world. So we have to be flexible and understanding. I think the universal thread that runs through all this is that one should aim to be part of the fabric of that country.

I don't think there are any prescriptive avenues beyond a point. A multinational corporation has got to work within the boundaries that are either imposed or simply present in a country. And these are not there for no reason, they are there because of the history, needs and customs of the country. Over time, these may change, and in some cases, overseas influence may be brought to bear on changing those, but it's up to the government of a particular country to take those decisions.

Corporations do what they think is best. But to be in India in the long term-and we intend to be in India in the long term-to get to know a place is important. It's not a matter of diplomacy, but a matter of very good common sense. It's the way to be successful. For instance, we don't want to be a shooting star, neither do we expect overnight success. When corporations come or plan to come to a newly developing market, they should keep their eyes and ears open, and their mouths shut.

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